Illuminated picture support



Dec. 11, 1951 I J. A, TRAUM 2,577,982

ILLUMINATED PICTURE SUPPORT Filed oct. 11,1949 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 IN V EN TOR.

A TTOQNEY Dec. l1, 1951 1 A, TRAUM 2,577,982

ILLUMINATED PICTURE SUPPORT Filed Oct. ll, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. JUL/u s' 7km/7 A TTOENEY Patented Dec. 1l, 1951 UNITED l.STATES PATENT OFFICE ILLUMINATED PICTURE SUPPORT JuliusA. Traum, New York, N. Y. Application October 11, 1949, Serial o. 120,647

1 Claim. l This inventionrelates to electric lighting x- -tures. More particularly my invention pertains to illuminated pictures.

It is an object of my invention to provide a 'lixture of the character described which comprises relatively few and simple parts, isA inexpensive to manufacture andy is of a rugged construction.

It is another object'of my inventionk to provide a xture of the character described which can be used as aJ night light.

vIt is another object of my invention to provide 'a vfixture of the character'described which can selectively be used either as a night light or as a reading light.

`"It is another object o`f my invention to provide an illuminated picture, of the type usable as a'night light or reading light, having a simple mechanism for enabling the fixture to be transformed from `one type of light to the other.

It is another object of my invention to provide a fixture of the character described in which the picture is illuminated in a pleasing, and attractive manner.

Y It is another object of my invention to provide afxture of the character described which can 'be taken apart easily for cleaning or replacement ofthe electric lamp.

It is another object of my invention to provide 5a fixture of the character described which is so :t

can be replacedsimply.

Other objects lof my invention will in `part be obvious and in part will be pointed out'hereinafter. My invention accordingly consists in the features voi construction, combinations of elements 'and' arrangements of parts which Will be exemplied in the ldevices hereinafter described and of Which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shownvarious possible embodiments of my invention: i

Fig. l is a front view of an electric light- 'ing fixture constructed in laccordance with my invention, a portion thereofbeing broken away better to illustrate certain details of the internal structure; I

Fig. 2 is a' bottom View of thefixture;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the fixture; Fig. 4 is an enlarged central vertical section `constructed that the picture to be illuminated *through the iixture, the same being taken-substantially along the line 4H-4 vof Fig'. l;

-v-Fi'g. i5 is an `enlarged vhci'rizontal "fragmentary I2 view through the xture,'the same being taken substantially along the line 5--'5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram of the fixture;

Fig'. 7 vis an enlarged, fragmentary, broken'- away front View of the bottom portiono 'alixture embodying a modified form of my invention;

Fig. `8 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a View similar t'o Fig. 7 of a fixture embodying another modiiiedform of my invention; and

Figs.. 10 and 11 are sectional'views taken substantially along the lines ille-I0 and ll--ll of Fig. 9.

Referring' novv in detail tothe drawings, 'and more particularly to Figs. l'through v6, thereference numeral 20 denotesfan electric lighting fixture constructed in `accordance with my invention. Said fixture comprises a hollow box-like housing 22 constituting a rear part 24 and a iront part 26.

The rear pai-t includes a back wall-2e'havinga narrow forwardly extending top ange '30, a pair of forwardly extending side walls 32 Whose depth is equal to approximately half of the depthof `the housing 22 and a vnarrow forwardly extending bottom flange 34. The forward edges ofthe side Walls are provided with inturnedflanges (Fig. 5) All of the .Walls and anges ofthe rear 'part preferably are fashioned from a single pieceof sheet metal bent into the required shape and op'- tionally'so held in a suitable fashion, for example by Welding, at the eorners of the housing. The rear part 24 of the housing may be of any selected plan c'zoniiguratit'ml and herein is illustrated as rectangular. n

Near the bottom edge of the back Wall 28 I rigidly secure; as by welding, the upstanding ilanges 38 of a pair of horizontal platesl; Each of these plates runs lfrom adjacent-a side wall-32 toward'but not up to the vertical centerline of the housing and thus define a space42 between their inner edges. From the foregoing it Will'be appreciated that the rear part 24 of the housing constitutes a shallow box-like vmember open at its front and top sides and having an opening'in its bottom Wall.

The front part or cover 2G desirably has a plan configuration generally similar to that of the back'part, being however, of slightly larger dimensions so as to be Vable to nestably receive and cover said rear part. As illustrated herein, said cover'is of rectangular shape and 'comprises fa edge each of these walls has an integral inwardly 3 directed flange 48 which connects the wall to a rearwardly sloping panel 58, the several panels being secured to one another at the corners of the cover by welded or soldered miter points 52. In addition to the top and side inclined panels 58, an additional panel 64 is provided that extends from the bottom of the cover. The free edges of the panels 50, 54 define a, large rectangular aperture 84 which provides access to the interior of the housing 22 when the cover and rear part are assembled. The lower edge of panel 54 is in one piece with a narrow strip 56 essentially similar to the flanges 48 and flush therewith. The opposite longitudinal edge of the strip 58 is connected to a rearwardly directed flange 58 which forms an abbreviated bottom wall for the cover. This wall is supplemented by tabs 60 integral with the bottom edges of the side walls 46 and extending horizontally inwardly, being located just above the plane of the flange 58. The top wall 44 of the cover is provided at its rear edge with a downwardly extendlng flange 82. Thus the cover is in the form of a box-like member having an open back and an abbreviated bottom wall.

To join the cover to the' rear part of the housing the flange E2 is hooked behind the upper back edge of the rear part with the side walls of the coveroutside the side walls of the rear part and the bottom of Jhe two parts separated. The cover then is swung toward the rear part about the pivot at the flange 62 until the strip 58 rests against the front edges of the plates 40 or some other element of the cover abuts some element of said rear part or until the cover rests against a support for the housing. In such position the cover still tends to swing rearwardly about the pivot so that the cover, although it can be swung open easily, will remain in its proper usable position.

The depth of the top wall 44 of the cover is substantially equal to the depth of the bottom wall of' the rear part defined by the plates 48 so that when the housing is assembled said top and bottom walls will be parallel and the front and back faces of the housing will be parallel. The side walls are as deep as the top wall so that they conceal the rear part from view.

The housing is adapted to be used by securing the back wall 28 to a vertical support, e. g. a wall or the like. To this end the back wall is fashioned with a pair of outwardly protuberant bosses 66, eachA of which includes a keyhole slot 68 designed to receive a pair of properly spaced nails or suitably shaped elements, e. g. hooks,

at the ends of a thin flexible member such as a chain, wire or cord.

Mounted on the housing immediately back of the aperture 64 is a pane 68 of a pellucid material, for example clear glass. A picture is incorporated in said pane in any manner well known to the art, for instance the picture may be printed on the front face of a sheet, 'l0 of paper which is adhered to the rear face of the glass pane. The picture sheet and pane conjointly constitute a translucent picture-unit, which xercises a diffusing action on light passing therethrough. This may be achieved by frosting the pane if the picture is in front of the pane and is at least in part transparent or, as is vthe case in the illustrated embodiment of my invention,

lby having the picture on a sheet of paper,com

In the form of my invention being described, said picture-unit is carried by the cover, the means which secures the unit being of such construction that the unit easily can be removed and another one substituted in its place. Said means constitutes a pair of parallel vertical guides 12, carried on the inner edges of the inclined side panels 50. The guides can be of any suitable contour and, as illustrated, comprise channels of U-shaped cross-section having their open sides facing one another across the aperture 64. The guides are open at their bottom ends to permit sliding entry of the pane 88. At the top ends of the guides I provide an abutment for the upper edge of the pane 68, in the form of a third U-shaped channel 14 secured as by welding to the inner edge of the inclined top panel 50. With this arrangement the unit can quickly be slipped into or removed from its operative position.

Means also i's included selectively to prevent removal of the pane from its guides. Such means include a pair of fingers 16 of malleable material, e. g. strips of soft iron or aluminum, having their bases permanently secured. e. g. by welding, brazing or soldering, to the inner edge of the bottom panel 54 in positions which allow their shanks to be disposed immediately beneath the bottom edge of the pane when the latter is in operative position. After the pane is properly placed said fingers are 4bent around its bottom edges as shown in Fig. 4.

Furthermore, the fixture includes means to illuminate the translucent picture-unit from the interior of the housing, that is to say from the rear of the unit. The illuminating means here constitutes an electric bulb 18 of any conventional type whose base is mounted in a socket fixed as by means of a bracket 82 and rivet 84 to the back wall 28 of the rear casing part 24. 'I'his bulb is arranged to be energized from a supply cord 88 through a three-'way switch 88 that is amxed to one of the panels 48 with its rotatable operating handle 98 protruding from the panel.

In order that the fixture may be used either as a night light or a reading light, a second electric bulb 92 is provided. This second bulb has its base secured in a socket 94 which is mounted by means of an angle bracket 88 and a screw 98 to one of the horizontal plates 48 carried by the rear casing part. The socket is so positioned that thed envelope of the bulb is centered between the side walls of the housing above the space 42. The bulb 92 is connected to the supply cord by the switch 88. f

The circuit for the two bulbs and switch is shown in Fig. 6. One terminal of each bulb is connected to one wire of the supply cord. The other terminal of each bulb is connected to the switch 88 which in turn is connected to the other wire of the supply cord. The switch 88 is of a standard type which can connect either or both of the two bulbs in circuit. That is to say, in the first position of the switch only the bulb 18 is energized, in the second position of the switch only the bulb 92 is energized, in the third position both bulbs are energized and in the fourth position neither bulb is energized.

When it is desired to use the iixture 28 as a night light only, the switch is turned to its first position in which the bulb 18 is energized. When it is desired to use the fixture as a reading light only, the switch is turned to its second position in which the bulb 18 is de-energized and the bulb 92 is energized.v In either of the first two posinous of the swith ,pr`tn e third position, the nxture also functions as an illuminated picture inasmuch as both bulbs are within the housing in position to shine on the back of the unit.

If desired, the bulb 78 may be omitted and the fixture still used as a combined reading light and illuminated picture, the night light feature being eliminated. Moreover, in such case I can so construct the fixture that it still can be arranged to function as a night light (and in the latter case also as an illuminated picture) when so desired. A modiiied form of fixture embodying the foregoing feature is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In this xture the space 42 is arranged to be removably covered by a blocking member or shutter |02. Due to space limitations in the particular xture illustrated, the shutter constitutes a plurality of panels |04, so that the same can be telescoped as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 7. The panel |06- has its longitudinal edges slidable beneath iingers |08 extending inwardly from the front and back of the housing adjacent the bottom wall thereof. Said edges of this panel are fashioned with inturned flanges ||0 which denne a track within which ride flat projections H2 extending outwardly from two rear corners of the panel |04. Thus the panel |04 is guided for longitudinal movement with respect to the panel |06 and the panel |06 is guided for longitudinal movement with respect to the bottom wall of the housing. The panel |04 is fashioned with a downturned tongue I4 to facilitate manipulation thereof and the panel |06 includes stops ||6 at its forward edge which engage the extensions I2 so that when the tongue is pulled in a direction to block the space 42 with the shutter the extensions 2 will engage the stops I I6 and cause the panel |03 to be moved into blocking position.

It will be apparent that with this arrangement, pulling the shutter |02 into a. position covering the space 42 will enable the fixture to be used as a night light and illuminated picture, and that with the shutter shifted to telescoped position over the plate |20 the xture can be employed as a reading lamp.

Instead of securing the translucent pictureunit to the cover the same can be attached to the rear part of the housing as shown in Fig. 8. In such event U-shaped channels ||8, |20 generally similar to the channels l2 are secured to the edges of anges |22 which are integral with and extend inwardly from the forward edges of the side walls 32 of the rear part of the housing. Said channels are so positioned that the pane is directly in back of the opening 94 deiined by the panels 59, 54.

In Figs. 9, 10 and 11 I have illustrated a fixture |30 embodying another modied form of my invention. Said fixture, in lieu of telescoping shutter panels, includes two shutter panels |32, |34 which are slidably secured to the plates 40 at opposite ends of the space 42 and are furnished with manipulating tongues |38, |38 that abut approximately in the center of said space in order to block light which otherwise would shine through the bottom of the housing and enable the fixture to be used as a reading light. The fixture further includes a lens |49 located beneath the bulb 82 and functioning to concentrate light in a beam. Said lens is removably secured by a pair of spring clips |42 attached to the rear Wall 28 of the housing by a bracket Ml. With this arrangement the fixture can be used with or without a lens.

t thus will be seen that I have provided electric lighting fixtures which achieve all the objects of my invention and are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A picture support comprising a housing including a rear part and a cover, said rear part constituting a box-like member having an open front, said cover comprising a box-like member having an open rear, said cover and rear part being relatively dimensioned to permit nesting of said rear part within the said cover, the front wall of the cover having an opening therein, a transparent pane having a translucent sheet on its rear face, the front face of said sheet having a picture thereon, guide members within said housing on opposite sides of said opening to slidably receive said pane, and a strip of soft metal carried by and within said housing beneath said opening to detachably engage and support the bottom edge of said pane, said cover having a downwardly depending flange at its top back edge arranged to engage the rear part below the back top edge thereof.

JULIUS A. TRAUM REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,348,957 Pope Aug. 10, 1920 1,413,507 Turner Apr. 18, 1922 1,725,230 Ulrich Aug. 20, 1929 1,769,243 Tout July 1, 1930 2,170,377 Nisle Aug. 22, 1939 2,418,225 Gross et al. Apr. 1, 1947 2,529,713 Thurston Nov. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 229,865 Germany Jan. 9, 1911 

